America 1982-Chapter 346 - 30: The Original Intention of Entering the Television Industry
5:50 AM, Tommy woke up ten minutes before the alarm clock, first reaching out to turn off the alarm on the nightstand, then gently kissed Ottelia’s forehead, who was lying beside him. Perhaps feeling a slight itch, she buried half her face in the pillow before continuing to sleep.
To avoid waking Ottelia, Tommy got out of bed with minimal movement, walked out of the bedroom in his pajamas, changed into his workout clothes in the outside dressing room, drank half a glass of water, and then briskly walked to the front yard of his home.
The fitness instructor who accompanied Tommy for the run, as well as Page, were already waiting outside.
Although Tommy didn’t expect to have a physique as toned as Jason or his brother Tony, he didn’t want his body to be ravaged by alcohol or partying before he turned forty. Thus, he insisted on running every morning, swimming when he got home in the evening, and doing stretching exercises to maintain his figure and weight at a relatively healthy level.
The fitness instructor did some warm-up exercises with Tommy before starting to jog along the roads within the community towards the park. Page drove behind them at a leisurely pace, one hand on the steering wheel, half her body leaning out of the open window, the other hand propped against her head.
After completing five kilometers in the beautiful Rogers Memorial Park in Beverly Hills, Tommy didn’t return via the same route but instead exited the park and took the main road back home.
There was, of course, a reason for this detour. Much like Tommy’s day, the day of most Beverly Hills locals began around six o’clock. People could be seen jogging in the park and on Santa Monica Boulevard either with their coaches or bodyguards.
Most of the stores on Santa Monica Boulevard also opened at six, including coffee shops, newsstands, and some unique breakfast places. However, the gyms there were the busiest of all, which is why, after each morning run, Tommy didn’t return the same way he came but instead purposely made a detour to the boulevard to grab a coffee before heading home.
Although Beverly Hills sounds like a general term for the residential areas around Beverly Hills, it’s actually not the same. Santa Monica Boulevard is a clear dividing line; on the north side of the boulevard lies the luxurious mansion district where Tommy lived. The farther north in Beverly Hills, the higher the hills, the better the views, and the higher the prices of the residences.
South of Santa Monica Boulevard, on the other hand, are many of the regular attractions for common people visiting Beverly Hills, including luxury shops, department stores, and some residential areas with relatively low prices, which do not require letters of recommendation to buy. Most ordinary movie stars choose to live south of Santa Monica Boulevard because even if they empty their bank accounts and struggle to get a letter of recommendation approved by the homeowner’s association, they might barely afford to buy a mansion but couldn’t cope with the daily expenses.
Tommy’s unfortunate experience serves as a good example of how terrifying daily expenses can be. For instance, he bought a mansion intended to be a wedding house that needed renovations. To avoid complaints about noise from neighbors, he had to rent three nearby mansions and strictly follow the construction times set by the homeowner’s association. Any violation of the rules would immediately lead to complaints; at best, he’d be labeled a nuisance neighbor, at worst, a petition would be initiated to force him out. This made the construction of the mansion repeatedly delayed, and the labor costs during this period were steadily soaring.
So, the Hollywood crowd living on the north side consists of only the real A-list male stars, movie company bosses, and top producers. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞
For many Hollywood stars, Santa Monica Boulevard is their litmus test within Hollywood. Only by making it to the Northern District does one prove they have become a legend in the American film industry.
The gyms on Santa Monica Boulevard are not busy from dawn till dusk without reason. Numerous ambitious, attractive young women rush in to seize the spots by the windows as soon as the gyms open at six. Whether it’s spinning bikes, treadmills, or even weightlifting, they do not mind at all.
These women purchase the most expensive VIP memberships at the gym but never use its changing rooms. They change into their tight clothes at home and then wait outside the gym, all to be the first to showcase their beautiful figures in tight clothes in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows of the gym in the early morning and to observe the men accompanied by drivers or bodyguards enjoying the morning. They are hunters, as well as prey.
All of them share the same thought: if a Hollywood producer just happens to pass by their window that morning and happens to find them to his taste, they might get a chance for overnight fame.
To snag a rich man or meet a big shot in the film industry, these girls are willing to do anything. Page, George, and his fitness instructor have all been directly approached by these women when they leave the gym. They would tell Page, old enough to be their father, that as long as he was willing to introduce them to Tommy and give them a chance to move into a mansion in the Northern District, they were willing to pay with cash or sleep with him.
Many gardeners, drivers, and butlers working for the residents have experienced this. Despite the risk of being discovered and fired by their employers, there are always those who take the risk, using this reason to tempt girls into bed, and between them, they treat this deception—as fake introductions to their employers leading to bed—like an extra perk of working in Beverly Hills.
